<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
<meta charset="UTF-8">
<title>Bad Day by orphan_account</title>
<style type="text/css">

body { background-color: #ffffff; }
.CI {
text-align:center;
margin-top:0px;
margin-bottom:0px;
padding:0px;
}
.center   {text-align: center;}
.cover    {text-align: center;}
.full     {width: 100%; }
.quarter  {width: 25%; }
.smcap    {font-variant: small-caps;}
.u        {text-decoration: underline;}
.bold     {font-weight: bold;}
</style>
</head>
<body>
<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/24150613">Bad Day</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account'>orphan_account</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Little Verse [3]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>My Chemical Romance</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Age Regression/De-Aging, Coping mechanism, Little Space, M/M, Non-Sexual Age Play, little gerard, not sexual</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-05-12</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-05-12</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-02 19:22:59</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,930</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/24150613</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Frank loved taking care of Gerard, but it wasn’t something he could do when he was having a bad day.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Frank Iero/Gerard Way</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Little Verse [3]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/1719784</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>7</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>100</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Bad Day</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><ul class="associations">
      <li>For <a href="https://archiveofourown.org/users/lightsinthefloors/gifts">lightsinthefloors</a>.</li>



    </ul><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Disclaimer: Use common sense. If this isn't your thing, or you're too immature to understand that this isn't a kink, please don't read.</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Frank had been in and out of meetings all day. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Meetings where he had to sit still and nod every once in a while to make it look like he was paying attention. He thought working at a music label would be him at shows or promoting local bands. But, it was mostly sitting at a desk answering emails from whiny rockstars or sitting in a conference room listening to aging corporate leeches who seemed to have forgotten what the importance of music really was. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>All Frank wanted to do was go home and watch a gory horror movie with Gerard and maybe order some Thai food. With extra spring rolls. Fuck yeah, that’s exactly what Frank needed. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>But all of that gets put on hold when he walks in the door and Gerard is sitting on the couch with his blanket and a stuffed animal watching </span>
  <em>
    <span>Peter Pan</span>
  </em>
  <span>. Frank presses his lips together to keep from groaning in frustration. He really is not in the mindset to take care of Gerard tonight. It’s not that he’s a handful, well sometimes he can be, but he just wants to be the one who is taken care of tonight. It was a bad day and he wanted Gerard to hold him and rub his back, maybe let him vent a bit then kiss him until his smile comes back. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hi, Frankie,” Gerard says with a huge grin.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>And fuck, how can he </span>
  <em>
    <span>not</span>
  </em>
  <span> just melt at that smile. He feels his lips quirk up a bit, but he still feels heavy and not in the best place to be taking care of Gerard.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>One of their rules when they first started this, was that Frank was never expected to be his caretaker. He’s taken a break before, where he’d just sit back in the living room and read or answer some emails for work. But he’d still be in the same room with Gerard and interact with him. He’d still let Gerard come up to him and show him the pictures he’d colored or he’d come sit on Frank’s lap and lay his head down on his shoulder. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>But, today, Frank just isn’t in the mood. He feels really awful about it, but he needs some time for himself.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He comes over to Gerard and kisses his forehead. “I’m not feeling good,” he says gently, “I’m going to go lay down for a little bit. Are you ok with your movie out here?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Gerard looks up at him with wide eyes, and for a moment Frank is worried that he’s hurt Gerard’s feelings, but he just nods and lays back down on the couch. Frank hesitates and waits to make sure that his focus is back to the movie, and when it looks like Gerard is happily entertained, Frank goes to their bedroom and shuts the door with a sigh. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Frank kicks off his shoes and doesn’t even have the motivation to change out of his dark jeans and button down shirt. He just crawls into bed and presses his face into the pillow. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He and Gerard had a good balance between them, especially when it came to this. Gerard had listened to Frank and cut his commision work in half so that he could work on his comic and personal projects. Frank noticed a change in him almost immediately. It was as if Gerard had been carrying this invisible bookbag full of rocks for weeks and then he was suddenly relieved from the heavy load. He didn’t slip into little space as often either, not that Frank minded when Gerard did age regress. He loved those days, it meant that he could put everything on hold and finger paint in the kitchen or bake cookies all day with Gerard. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>But, sometimes it was exhausting to be constantly on for Gerard. It wasn’t like Gerard was super hard to take care of when he was little, but it did feel like Frank had to put everything on hold and zero in on every one of Gerard’s needs. He loved taking care of Gerard, but it wasn’t something he could do when he was having a bad day. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Frank hears the door open and he sighs before lifting his head to see Gerard standing in the doorway looking unsure. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Honey, what’s wrong?” He asks, straining to keep his voice soft even though he’s a bit frustrated. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Gerard frowns and looks down at his feet, huffing a little. Frank sighs and sits up. He knows that look. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>One of the more difficult tasks of taking care of Gerard when he’s little is helping him figure out what he needs or wants. Most of the time it’s easy to read, Gerard wants a snack or he needs to cuddle. Frank isn’t really sure how the age regression works, but sometimes he thinks that Gerard and his little space gets muddled. That he has Big Gerard ideas even when he’s Little Gerard. When this happens, it always makes him frustrated because he doesn’t know how to articulate those ideas when he’s little. And it’s </span>
  <em>
    <span>always</span>
  </em>
  <span> hard for Frank to pull it out of him that a lot of the time Frank will just try to soothe Gerard and move past it until he’s big again and can ask him what was going on. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What’s wrong, Gee?” Frank asks again, hoping that maybe Gerard will be able to give him something that he can decipher. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>But he just whines and looks up at him with a pleading look, holding out his hand.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Frank wants to just crawl back into bed, but it’s not fair to Gerard. Not when he’s in this state of mind and doesn’t understand what’s going on with Frank. So, he gets out of bed and takes Gerard’s hand. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What is it?” He asks. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Gerard doesn’t answer and pulls Frank down the hall and into the living room. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Baby, just tell me what…” Frank starts, but he trails off when he sees the living room. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Gerard has all his favorite stuffed animals out on the couch and lots of blankets draped over the cushions. There’s also goldfish and graham crackers out on the coffee table, along with a sippy cup of what Frank assumes is ginger ale. All things that Frank gets for Gerard when he’s feeling sick. Frank wants to check the kitchen to see how big of a mess Gerard made, but he just grins and lets it go. Because this is a really sweet gesture. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Gee, honey, did you do all this?” He asks softly, pulling Gerard into his arms. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Gerard blushes and hides his face against Frank, but he can still see his huge smile. He’s so proud of himself and Frank can’t help that his grumpy mood just sort of vanishes.  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He lets Gerard pull him to the couch and he laughs a little when Gerard puts his Star Wars blanket on him. He’s got a focused look on his face, like he’s trying very hard to remember how Frank takes care of Gerard. Frank gives him a reassuring smile and lets Gerard put stuffed animals in his lap. Frank makes a big gesture of hugging each stuffed animal that Gerard hands him, making Gerard smile a toothy grin. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Then, Gerard hands Frank the sippy cup full of ginger ale with bright, hopeful eyes. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Frank grins at him and starts to unscrew the lid. “I can drink it without the lid, sweetie.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Mess,” Gerard says with a frown. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I promise not to make a mess,” he promises softly. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Gerard gives him a look, something Frank thinks is supposed to be a stern look. But he just looks innocent with his big and wondrous eyes.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Frank makes sure to sip at the ginger ale, not wanting to hurt Gerard’s feelings. And, he really does love ginger ale when he’s not feeling good. It’s always been a comfort drink for him, even if he doesn’t have a stomach ache.  Gerard crawls onto the couch next to Frank and hits play on his movie, handing Frank goldfish crackers every now and then. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Frank settles against the couch and munches on the snacks with Gerard while they watch </span>
  <em>
    <span>Peter Pan</span>
  </em>
  <span>. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Gerard tugs at Frank’s shoulder, whining softly and Frank raises an eyebrow. “Use your words.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Gerard pouts, but says, “Cuddle.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Frank smiles softly and sets his drink down before laying down and pulling Gerard with him. He puts the Star Wars blanket over them and relaxes against the pillows after adjusting the stuffed animals. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Gerard turns so that he’s facing Frank and starts to stroke Frank’s cheek. Frank meets his eyes and he sees his Gerard behind his eyes. He sees the worry and concern leaking out, and he’s </span>
  <em>
    <span>trying</span>
  </em>
  <span>. Even in his little space, even when he’s in the headspace that’s supposed to protect him from these types of responsibilities. He’s putting his comfort aside to take care of Frank, and Frank’s heart is so full just thinking about that. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Gerard’s fingertips slide over Frank’s eyes, something he does when he’s trying to lull Gerard to sleep. Frank smiles, but let’s Gerard continue to pet his hair or stroke his cheek. And it’s working, Frank feels himself slipping into a quiet part of his mind that’s trying to pull him under into subconsciousness. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Frank didn’t think he fell asleep, but when he opens his eyes he hears the front door opening. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Shit.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Frank sits up quickly, but he sees Gerard shutting the door and carrying in a bag of take out.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hey, sleepyhead,” Gerard says softly, setting the paper bag down on the table. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Frank exhales, ok good. Gerard is out of little space and didn’t try to leave the apartment on his own or whatever. But, oh, fuck.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Gee, fuck, I’m sorry I fell asleep,” Frank says, wincing as he goes through all the wrose case scenarios that dance around in his head. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Gerard sits down on the couch next to him and takes his hand with an amused expression. “You know that I had little time before you even knew about this and I was perfectly fine on my own.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Frank rubs at his eyes, trying to wake up more. “Yeah, yeah.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Gerard pats him on the shoulder and leans over to unpack the take out. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“And yes, I got you the extra spring rolls,” Gerard says as he sets out the curry and spring rolls.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I love you,” Frank sighs, picking up a spring roll and dipping it in the plum sauce. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Gerard kisses him on the cheek and picks up the remote to hit play and </span>
  <em>
    <span>Texas Chainsaw</span>
  </em>
  <span> starts playing. Frank puts a hand over his heart dramatically. “You spoil me.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Gerard laughs, “Well, I know you had a bad day.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Frank nods and digs into his curry, thinking about how awful he had felt when he got home. And then he thinks about how peaceful he felt laying on the couch with Gerard watching </span>
  <em>
    <span>Peter Pan</span>
  </em>
  <span> and eating goldfish. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>It’s not that Frank ever felt that Gerard was silly for acting like a child to find some comfort, but he never fully understood it either. But now, after the afternoon he had, he could see why Gerard slipped into that mindset every now and then. It was quiet and easy. Just laying on the couch watching cartoons and eating snacks shut his brain off for a little bit. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>And while eating Thai food and watching Leatherface stalk his next victim with his boyfriend was appealing in every way possible, Frank could find the merit in both.</span>
</p><p>
  
</p>
  </div></div>
</body>
</html>